New Haven Open - Nicole Gibbs during the second set. Melanie Stengel/Register
NEW HAVEN ? Whether Nicole Gibbs returns to defend her two NCAA tennis championships remains uncertain, at least for the time being.
But after getting a small taste of life on the pro tour and a heaping dose of confidence against some of the best players in the world, it sure sounds like Gibbs is prepared to leave her amateur status at Stanford by next spring.
Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, had her way with Gibbs in a straight-set victory Wednesday night at the New Haven Open, displaying a power game rarely, if ever, seen at the college ranks.
Gibbs fought to the end, scoring a late break that put her in position to steal the second set. The fundamentals are there, she says. The experience is not. That will only come with more matches on tour.
?On a different night, I could have won that match,? said Gibbs, whose ouster leaves no American players remaining in the field. ?She definitely has a ton of experience on me and was clearly the better player. There?s a couple of things I need to work on physically. I play five matches in a row against top 100-level (competition) and that?s going to look like a different match.?
Earlier this summer, Gibbs faced Serena Williams at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, losing in straight sets.
At New Haven, Gibbs set a couple of personal bests. She defeated the world?s No. 102 player, Julia Cohen, on Friday. A day later, she knocked off her first top 100 player, Spain?s Dominguez Lino, ranked 77th.
Next up: the main draw at the U.S. Open, which extends a wild card berth to the NCAA singles champion.
Gibbs knows she?ll turn pro by next year. It?s just a matter of when. Although she?ll still take a full class load at Stanford, there?s little left for her to accomplish as a college player. A three-time All-American, she became only the third person to win both the singles and doubles national championships in the same season. Continued...
Her success, both on the WTA and its challenger tour, has all but made up her mind she?ll make the jump when the school year is over. She has already given up the college fall season to play in more pro tour events as an amateur.
?My results on the tour, and the fact I?m working my way into these WTA tournaments, it?s one of the things that?s (giving) me the itch to play full-time,? Gibbs said.
While her days as a player at Stanford may be numbered, Gibbs was a part of one victory for college tennis Wednesday.
Last week, the NCAA Division I tennis committee proposed reform that would have changed the way the college game was played. Singles matches that went to a third set would have played a super tiebreaker in which the first player to 10 points would be deemed winner.
No other college sport requires athletes to compete upward of five hours in a day. At least that was the rationale, though the committee was also concerned with improving the sport?s marketability.
But as any tennis player knows, the final set is the climax. It?s where a player?s guts and endurance are pushed to the limit. For fans, it?s the most compelling component of the sport.
Naturally, it drew harsh criticism across the country. Gibbs was among the most vocal, and she took to Twitter to bash the idea.
?I play tennis for tennis, not for tv coverage and frat boy attendance. Playing a tb for a third set compromises the integrity of the sport!? she wrote, adding a second tweet sarcastically thanking the NCAA for ?reducing my sport to a joke at the college level.?
She even created a new Twitter hashtag, #SaveCollegeTennis.
There would be swift justice. Social media in the 21st century is a speedy and effective alteration to the grassroots political movements. On Wednesday, in the wake of consensus disagreement, the proposal was rescinded. Gibbs learned of the decision shortly before taking the court against Kvitova. Continued...
?That was a collective force, there was something like 8,000 people in the group against NCAA changes,? Gibbs said. ?I?m glad to have helped, and very relieved. I think a lot of us are.?
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Source: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/08/23/sports/doc5035930feef97123823338.txt
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